Combined display device and announcing-graphophone.



T. H. MACDONALD.

COMBINED DISPLAY DEVICE AND ANNOUNOING GBAPHOPHONE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGnRS, 1910.

1,1 19,295, Patented Dec. 1. 1914,

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

T. H. MACDONALD.

COMBINED DISPLAY DEVICE AND ANNOUNCING GRAPHOPHONE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26, 1910.

1,1 19,295, Patented Dec. 1. 1914.

3 BHEETSSHEET 2.

314 ua'nto z 112; 8 N l M I I I flff ozucvs T. H. MACDONALD. COMBINED DISPLAY DEVICE AND ANNOUNGING GRAPHOPHONB.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1910.

Patented Dec. 1. 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

STATES PATENT orr oa.

. THOMAS H. MACDONALD, OF BBIDGEPOBT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN GBAPHOPHONE COMYANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

Application filed Awful! 20, 1910. Serial N 0. 579,172.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. MAGDO'NH Ann, ofjliridgeport, Connecticut, have inve :i'a' new and useful Improvement in Combined Display Devices and Announcing- Gra hophones, which invention is fully set fort: in the following specification.

The resent invention is a combined dis-- play evice and automatic announcing graphophone, and its object is to provide means or simultaneouslydis layin cards, pictures or other devices ad resse to the eye and at the same time making announcements from a graphophone of matter descri tive of or otherwise connected with the devices displayed. Thus, for example, an advertising card may be displayed settin forth the merits of one class of goods an the talking machine may simultaneously make announcements in connection therewith, after which the talking machine is silent and the display card is changed. Another card is automatically brought into view describing another class of goods, whereupon the talking machine is again automatically set in operation and makes an appropriate announcement in connection with the second card; and so on through a series, the cards being automatically returned into position to be again displayed in their turn and the talking record being automatically returned to its original position to repeat the operation after matter ass tiated with the whole series of cards has been reproduced.

One of the essential features in a device of this character is that the announcements from the talking machine should be so timed as to occur at the time when the appropriate display card is in view, and one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide means for thus timing the operation of the two devices, to the end that t ey may occur simultaneously.

With this object in view, the invention consists of an intermittently operable display device and an intermittently operating vice is operativel connected both to the display device an to the talking machine. Any suitable construction of intermittently operating talking machine may be employed and any suitable intermittently operable disploy device may be used. Preferably, I employ the intermittently operable talking machine shown, described and claimed in my application Serial No. 466,680, filed December 9th, 1908, and an intermittently operable display device consisting of a series of display cards sus ended in series by suitable wires connecte .to each card, which wires rest on an inclined wav or rails, the cards being one behind the other, so that only the front card is in view. The cards are held from falling off of the way or rails by a pair of pinions engaging the wires on the front card, which pinions are controlled'by an escapement, which is in turn controlled by a continuously driven timing shaft, which controls the intermittent operation of the talkin machine by suitable cam mechanism, as fu ly set forth in my aforesaid application. As the front card is released by the action of the escapement, it fall to the bottom of a suitable casing,- thus permitting the next card to the rear to come into view, and the fallen card is picked up by a continuously moving carrier by which it is again placed upon the rails to the rear of the series, to be again displayed when all of the cards in front of it have in turn been presented to view.

The inventive idea is capable of receivin a variety of mechanical expressions, one 0 which, for the purpose of illustrating the invention, is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of an announcin graphophone, the same being that describ and claimed in my aforesaid application Serial No. 466,680; Fig. 2 is a front view of the display device associated with said announcing graphophone; Fig. 3 is a side view of said display device; Figs. 4 and 5 are details of the mechanism for feeding the display cards forward; and Figs. 6 and 7 are details of the escapement mechanism which controls the forward feed of said display cards.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1 and 2 indicate the usual endplates; 3, the main shaft with its mandrel 4 carrying an interchangeable record cylinder 5; 6, the reproducer carriage with its partial nut 7 engaging the feed-screw 8. Suitable trains of gearing are shown connecting shaft 3 with the feed-screw 8 and with the gov- 'ernor (not shown). The motor (indicated at 9, Fig. 2) is supposed to run continuously, but the main shaft 3 and the other working parts of the graphophone proper remain stationary, except when a clutch is applied to connect the main shaft with the driving pulley 10, which latter is loose on the projecting end of the shaft 3 and driven from the motor, as by a belt. This continuously revolving pulley 10 carries on its hub the pinion 11, which continuously drives the train of ears that shifts the clutch referred to, and rom the same train is actuated the mechanism for engaging (and disengaging) the return screw an the graphophone carriage.

The left-hand end of the main shaft 3 is hollow, and in it is carried the stem 12 of the clutch head 13, the latter being located beyond the pulley and having a serrated face to engage counter-serrations on the adjacent face of the head of pulley 10. On the main shaft 3 is a shift collar 14 carrying a transverse pin 15 that passes through longitudinal slots in the shaft 3, and engages the stem 12. When this collar is thrown to the left, the clutch is disengaged, and the graphophone mechanism remains idle, although the pulley 10 and its train continue to revolve, but when collar 14 is shifted to the right, the clutch is engaged and the driving pulley operates the graphophone in the usual manner.

Preferably the mechanism for shifting the announcing graphophone into and out of operation is that described and claimed in my aforesaid application, Serial No. 466,680, filed December 9th, 1908, wherein the pulley pinion l1 drives the speed-reducing train 16, 17 and'18. On the shaft of gear 18 is a worm 19 in mesh with worm gear 20 on the transverse shaft 21. It is on this shaft 21, hereinafter called the timing shaft, that are mounted the several cams that intermittently operate the announcing graphophone and the display device. The cams for shifting the announcing graphophone into and out of operation are indicated at 22 and 23, Fig. 1, and the connections therebetween and the shift collar 14 are the same as indicated in my said application above referred to.

The reduction from pulley 10 to the transverse timing shaft 21 and the cams may be of any desired value. If a reduction of 400 is had, and the graphophone is driven at the usual reproducing speed of 160 revolutions t0 the minute, it is evident that the cams will make a complete revolution once in every 2% minutes, and that ac- 'cordingly an announcement will be made by the graphophone once in every 21} minutes. 1f the reduction is 320, and the graphophone is driven at the same speed, it is evident that the cams will make a complete revolution once in ever 2 minutes. As full set forth in my a plication above referred to, the duration 0 the running of the graphophone will be determined by the relative positions of the seats in the two cams 22 and 23, and by axially adjusting cam 22, the duration of this audible reproduction can be nicely adjusted.

Each display card 24 is secured at its upper end to a wire 25, which latter projects at each end beyond the sides of the card and engages inclined ways or rails 26 suitably mounted in the frame of the machine.

Preferably, these ways or rails are inclined at an angle of about 20. A rod 27 suitably mounted in the frame of the machine is provided with two pinions 28, the teeth of which are of such pitch and size as to mesh into the wires 25 as they lie on the way or rails 26, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. On an extension of said rod 27 is a ratchet wheel 29, more fully illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. The rotation of this ratchet wheel is controlled by an escapement mechanism mounted on a rocker bar 30 which is supported by bearings 31 (Fig. 3). This rocker bar 30 is rotated by arm 32, rod 33 attached to the end of said arm, and crank 34 mounted on shaft 35. A tension spring 36 is secured at one extremity to the free end of crank 34, and at the other extremity to the base of the machine. Shaft 35 has also mounted thereon a finger 37, which at its free end engages the surface of cam 38 mounted upon the timing shaft 21. If the reduction from the pulley 10 to the timing shaft 21 is 400, said cam 38 will revolve once every 2% minutes, and if the reduction is 320, said cam 38 revolves once every 2 minutes. At the appropriate time point 39 of the cam passes the end of finger 37, and the latter is elevated under the influence of spring 36. At the same time, crank 34 and rod 33 are depressed, which effects the rotation of rocker arm 30, and accordingly 0perates the escapement mechanism to rotate pinions 28, to cause the card that has been displayed to drop off the extremities of ways .or rails 26, and to bring the next succeeding card into display position.

The timingshaft 21 has mounted thereon a gear wheel 40, which meshes with gear 41 carried on shaft 42, on which latter is also mounted a sprocket pulley 43, around which passes belt 44, which latter also engages pulley 45 mounted on rod 46 suitably su )ported in the framework of the machine. This belt is provided with hooks 47,

and these hooks engage the display card which has been dropped off the way or rails 26, and which has assumed the dotted line position (Fig. 3) on inclined surface 48. A deflector 49 insures that the dropped: display card will assume the proper position to be engaged b said hooks 47. When the belt 44 is rotate the hooks engage the display card, and the latter is elevated toqthe ates the feed of the display cards comprises,

preferably, a plate 52 mounted on rocker bar 30 provided with a tooth 53 and an abutment 54. On this plate 52 is pivoted a pawl 55, which is normally held against a pin 56 by the action of a spring 57. Under normal conditions, tooth 53 of the plate 52 engages one of the teeth of ratchet wheel 29, so that shaft 27 is prevented from rotating. When, however, finger 37 passes beyond point 39 of cam 38, the succeeding rotation of rocker bar 30 removes said tooth 53 from the vpath of the teeth of ratchet wheel 29, and moves pawl 55 into engagement with said ratchet wheel 29. Spring 57 is not, however, strong enough to prevent movement of the display cards mounted on the way or rails 26, and accordingly, under the action of gravity, said cards move forward, and pawl 55 is forced into engagement with the abutment 54 at the same time that one of the cards is forced off the way or rail 26,

and the succeeding card is presented at the display position. The continued rotation of cam 38 effects the depression of finger 37, the rotation of rocker bar 30, and the movement of tooth 53 back into the path of the teeth of ratchet wheel 29; and rotation of said shaft 27 is again prevented until pawl is once more moved into the path of ratchet wheel 29.

It will therefore be appreciated that, by the provision of a timing device, such as timing shaft 21, which is common to both the intermittently-operating display device and the intermittently-operating announcing graphophone, and which controls the same through the action of cams 22, 23 and 38 mounted thereonthe announcements of the graphophone will be made at the appropriate time relative to the action of the display device; andthe time of relative operation of the display device and the announcing graphophone may be readily effected by proper change and adjustment of said cams.

What is claimed is 1. An intermittently operable display'device, an intermittently operable talking machine, a continuously-moving shaft, a cam thereon-controlling the operation of said talking machine-and a second cam thereon controlling the operation of said display device.

2. The combination oi-an inclined support,- a series of-- displaycards-suspended from said support, an escapement operable to free said cards one at" a time from said support, a continuously moving timing shaft operatively connected to said escapement and intermittently releasing the same, and a continuously moving means for restoring said escape-d cards to said support 3. The combination of an inclined support, a series of display cards suspended on and movable by gravity along said support, a rotary escapement operable to free said cards one at a time from said support, a continuously moving timing shaft, a cam mounted thereon. intermittently releasing said escapement, and a continuously moving means for restoring said escaped cards.

4. The combination of an inclined support, a series of display cards suspended on and movable by gravity along said support, a rotary escapement operable to free said cards one at a time from said support, a coninclined surface for receiving said escaped cards, a deflector associated therewith, a continuously moving timing shaft operatively connected to said escapement and intermittently releasing the same, and a continuously moving means for restoring said escaped cards to said support.

6. The combination of an inclined support, a series of display cards fed along said support by gravity, a stop for said cards, a ratchet associated with said stop, a plate adapted to be engaged by said ratchet, a pawl pivoted on said plate and yieldable in the direction of movement of said cards, means for moving said plate out of engagement with said ratchet and moving said pawl into engagement with said ratchet, and vice-versa, a card being fed from said sup port by gravity when said pawl is engaged by said ratchet.

7. The combination of an inclined support, a series of display cards fed along said support by gravity, a pinion engaging and stopping each card, a ratchet associated with said pinion, a plate movable axially of said ratchet, a spring-pressed pawl pivoted on said plate and yieldable in the direction of cards one at a time from said support, an

movement of said cards, means for moving specification in the presence of two sub said plate out of engagement With saul scubmg wltnesses. ratchet and movmg sa1d pawl lnto engagement with said ratchet, and vice-versa, a THOMAS MACDONALD 5 end being fed from said support by gravity Witnesses:

when said pawl is engaged by said ratchet. A. B. KEoUcH,

In testimony whereof I have signed this C. W. lhzmmne. 

